Legacy to Uphold
by Niar-Muse
Summary: Corvus is a hunter sent on a mission that may be his undoing.
1. Chapter 1

The Grimm were everywhere, completely surrounding Corvus. He held Raven's Legacy tightly in his hands, the daggers already dripping with the remnant of the Grimm he had slain moments ago. Corvus breathed heavily, he knew he was running out of aura and bullets and dust.

He knew he was running out of time.

* * *

 _-Two Months ago-_

Circelle was crying again, Corvus sighed getting up from the bed and making his way over to the crib, rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he did. He could hear Morgan shifting in his sleep on the bed and picked up Circelle from her crib.

"It's okay little one." Corvus cooed gently, rocking Circelle back and forth, "Go back to sleep, please. It's really early."

He almost smiled, it was silly. Circelle couldn't understand what he just said, but it seemed to work as she quieted down after a minute. Corvus adjusted Circelle to hold her better, turning back and looking back at the bed. Morgan was beginning to sit up, his golden eyes hazy with sleep and black hair sticking up all over.

"Sleep well little guy?" Corvus asked, a gentle smile on his face.

Morgan rubbed sleep from his eyes and nodded.

"Come on, lets go make breakfast."

Morgan nodded again and sleepily followed Corvus from the bedroom through the living room and finally into the kitchen. The kitchen was small, but cozy, it's walls were a warm rose red and the floor was made of red oak. Corvus ran his freehand over the counter top, remembering how he had rebuilt the kitchen when he bought the house.

He had just become a hunter and his first mission was into a forest on Patch, Corvus had found the Grimm hiding in an old cabin on a hill. When he had cleared it out, Corvus had taken the old cabin as his home, it was somewhat secluded from the nearby town and needed a lot of work done before it was safe to live in. He had taken it on as a side project when he wasn't fighting Grimm, but he wasn't alone in building it, when he had graduated from Beacon as a hunter, his partner had also graduated and had remained at his side.

Corvus shook his head, banishing the memory as he set Circelle down in a high chair and moved over to a cabinet while Morgan retrieved items from the fridge, placing them on the counter next to Corvus.

When he looked down from the cabinet, Corvus saw the ingredients Morgan had laid.

"Pancakes?" He asked, Morgan nodded, lifting his arms.

 _I'll help._

"Alright then, here. Can you feed your sister while I make the pancakes?" Corvus asked again with a smile, Morgan nodded again, taking the baby food that his father held out and quietly making his way over to Circelle.

Corvus wasn't much of a chef, but he wasn't bad either. When the pancakes were made and eaten and the dishes cleaned and Circelle fed, Corvus sat in the living room with his scroll in hand. He was checking the bounty boards, he hadn't gone on a mission since Circelle was born and there would be a lot of work to set it up, first he would have to find a baby sitter then find a job that would cover both the sitter and his family for the next few-

A message popped up on his screen.

 _Beacon Academy_.

"Oh. Ozpin." Corvus shrugged, tapping the screen to accept the message.

 _Corvus,_

 _There's a mission I believe you would be suited for. Report to Beacon for briefing._

 _-Goodwitch_

"Okay so Goodwitch." Corvus corrected himself, he had an uneasy feeling about going to Beacon. It wasn't unusual that Glynda would send him mission suggestions, but she wouldn't be this vague about the details. Corvus caught movement out of the corner of his eye and closed the message just as Morgan was about to peak over.

"All dressed?"

 _Yes._

"Ready to go to your grandmother's?"

 _Why are we going?_

"Dad's got a mission he has to go on." Corvus explained, putting away his scroll. Morgan nodded slowly, processing the information before hopping off the couch and going back into his room, presumably to pack.

* * *

When they arrived at the house Corvus' mother lived in, Corvus felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him as he passed through the front door.

"Alright, Morgan." Corvus said, kneeling down to eye level with Morgan, "I'm going to be gone for a while, while I'm gone take care of Circelle."

 _Okay_. Morgan signed. _Will you bring me back something?_

"Haha, yeah. I promise." Corvus chuckled, taking Morgan's hand and curling his fingers around the ring he placed on it, "For now just keep this safe. It's your mother's ring, she would want Circelle to have it when she's older."

Morgan's eyes grew bright as his hands turned the shiny ring over and over, mesmerized by the simplicity of it.

"I have to go now, stay in school." Corvus grinned, standing up completely to leave. He felt Morgan grab his hand and sighed, looking down at Morgan and watching him sign out his words.

 _Promise you will come home?_

He ruffled Morgan's hair.

"Promise."

Dust he would have loved to have kept that promise.

* * *

 **So new project while I'm getting into the swing of writing again. Technically this is a sort of origin story for my character in "Random Beacon Kids" by Oz Vessalius the B-Rabbit. You guys should really go and read their story, it has a whole lot of potential and is great so far!**  
 **Like always, reviews are gladly appreciated and constructive criticism is always welcome!**


	2. Chapter 2

Corvus stood in the elevator leading up to Ozpin's office, he found it funny that he still felt intimidated passing through the elevator doors even though he had nothing to fear. It brought him back to his student days, when he wasn't alone in an elevator. Raven's Legacy felt heavy on his waist, it was a good weight, one he had missed.

His black beady eyes watched the floor numbers ascend steadily and took a deep breath as he approached Ozpin's office. He reached into his pocket and rubbed the small smooth stone with his thumb, feeling calmer at the familiar item's touch.

The elevator slowed to a halt with a ding, the doors slid open and the feeling of intimidation washed away from Corvus as he stepped out. Ozpin sat at his desk, Glynda Goodwitch stood next to him, it appeared they were in the midst of a conversation, but the moment Corvus entered the office they stopped and looked at him.

"Ah, Corvus. It's been a while." Ozpin greeted, folding his hands on his desk and nodding his head, beckoning for Corvus to come closer. He walked across the room steadily, stopping just before Ozpin's desk.

"It has, hasn't it? Glynda said you had a mission for me?" Corvus asked, motioning over at Glynda and noticing that she held a file in her hand. Odd, the academies had made the switch to scrolls years ago.

"Yes, we couldn't risk sending it to you on your scroll. You need to know that what ever happens in this room will be off the record."

Off the record?

What was he getting himself into?

"Yes sir."

"Good. Glynda, if you would." Ozpin motioned towards Glynda and she set the file down on the desk. The file was seemingly normal, save for the big red letters that spelled "RESTRICTED" placed across the academy crest.

"We've lost contact with a hunter recently, not only that, but the area the hunter was last seen has been oddly quiet."

"Are there any other hunters in the area?" Corvus asked, moving towards the file, "May I?"

"Go right ahead. We've contacted the other hunters nearby, none have heard from them and they've all seemingly vanished as well. We'd like for you to seek out these hunters and put an end to whatever is happening." Ozpin explained as Corvus began to page through the file, it looked to be profiles of the missing hunters as well as a map, several maps.

"I've arranged for an airship to take you to the edge of the kingdom, from there you will be on your own. I have to ask if you are willing to do this Corvus, I can't guarantee you'll survive."

"I'll do it, these hunters need to be found." Corvus proclaimed, "Do you have any leads on what could be causing this?"

"Cursory reports of the area show an immense population of Grimm." Glynda answered, glancing down at her scroll and flicking through several reports, "There are copies of these reports in the file for you."

Corvus nodded, having turned to the first report of the area.

"I'm ready for this, but I need something to be promised."

"I'm sure we can arrange something." Ozpin nodded, "What do you need?"

"If I don't return I want my pension given to my family."

"That can be arranged." Ozpin agreed, tapping at his scroll and arranging it, "Your mission starts now, the airship is waiting for you outside. Good luck."

Corvus nodded, squaring his shoulders and taking the file with him as he left the room. The moment the elevator doors slid closed behind the hunter is the moment Ozpin let out a sigh.

"Was giving him this mission the right thing to do?"

* * *

Corvus sat in the airship as it flew over the countryside down below, in his lap was the open file. His eyes were glued to the words, it would take a while before the airship reached the edge of the kingdom. The file started off with what he would be doing, finding the missing hunters and discovering what happened to them. Next came the hunter's profiles, who he would be looking for, their semblances, weapons, allegiances, anything that would be relevant to them was in their files. Corvus read through them carefully, the first hunter to go missing was a man named Warden Gray, from his profile Corvus knew he was a seasoned hunter growing close to retirement. He knew why Ozpin was concerned now, it wasn't everyday that a seasoned hunter went missing. There was the time when Raven Branwen disappeared, Corvus had met her several times at Beacon, it was strange that she disappeared without a trace. Then there was the death of Summer Rose, Corvus shook the thought away, he needed to concentrate on his own mission.

The second hunter to go missing was Warden Gray's own son, Finch, he had just gotten back from a seek and destroy mission in Atlas when he heard about his father. Two hunters so far, and both of them related. Could it just be a coincidence? Corvus had to take in all considerations, there were potential lives resting on his shoulders now.

He turned to the next page and continued reading.

Three other hunters had gone missing. Gilda Hawk, Arthur Pendra, Alice Glass. They were all hunters who were competent and had gone on numerous missions before hand. Was there something there that wasn't in the reports?

Corvus turned to the last profile and his eyes widened.

The last hunter that went missing was Merrill Lynn.

He had heard of Merrill Lynn and had seen her on the cover of the news paper, hunter and celebrity magazines, even on the front of Pumpkin Pete's Ceral boxes. She was a prodigy huntress from Altas, the youngest to have graduated at the age of sixteen, she was supposedly away on a long mission in Menagerie. Yet here she was, outside of the kingdoms, _missing_.

If even _she_ went missing, Corvus knew he wouldn't be coming back unless he was unrealistically lucky. There was definitely something wrong.

Corvus turned to to the reports, Warden Gray's reports were simple, to the point, but detailed enough that Corvus knew exactly what happened on his missions. Warden mentioned a steady rise in Grimm populations as well as the discovery of some old ruins. When Corvus looked at the map of the area he found it odd, from what he remembered from his Remnant History course, there wasn't any recorded civilization in that area.

He turned to the next report, the same story, old ruins being discovered and then the reports stopped. Even Merrill Lynn's reports were like that, except, she had taken a photo and attached it to her report before she sent it off.

The photo was grainy, but there was definitely ruins there, Corvus couldn't tell how old they were, but they looked even older than the forest temple in the Emerald Forest.

A knot had formed in his abdomen, he had a bad feeling about those ruins.

Closing the file, Corvus checked how long he had until they reached the drop site, another hour and a half before he would be on his own. 

* * *

**This was actually pretty fun to write, I'm starting to get back into the flow of writing chapters again and specifically starting to get into a flow of writing this fic. Anyways, second chapter is done and up. No idea when the next chapter will come, but hopefully soon.**  
 **Like always reviews are gladly appreciated and any constructive criticism is well appreciated.**  
 **Once again, this fic is somewhat related to "Random Beacon Kids" by Oz Vessalius the B-Rabbit. I highly recommend you read their story.**  
 **Till next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

Corvus watched as the airship flew away from the drop point, the black feather cowl he wore whipped around him in the just of wind the airship left in its wake. He glanced around at his surroundings, the airship had dropped him off near an old towering wall that separated the kingdom from the wilds and terror of Grimm. The walls were old, almost ancient, if not for the constant upkeep and vigilance of Hunters they would have crumbled away long ago.

Corvus stood before the giant metal gate that was the only thing separating humanity from Grimm, he never understood why the gate needed to be so large. It could have been better if it was smaller, there wouldn't be such a big target for the Grimm to flock to then and not many people needed to leave the kingdoms today. Corvus shrugged to himself, no point in questioning it now. Running a hand through his thick black feathery hair, Corvus reached up and grasped at the locket holding his cowl together as the gates opened. He whispered a short prayer to himself before taking a deep breath, the moment the gate closed behind him, he was on his own.

* * *

The wilds outside the Kingdom weren't as bad until you got further away from the walls. Corvus knew that he wouldn't encounter many Grimm until he had passed through several towns, yet he kept Raven's Legacy close to him. The weapon, though impractical and prone to jams, had saved his life more times than he could remember. It was a family heirloom from his father's family, the tradition that came with it was that every generation added something onto the weapon, be it a new form or dust infusion, once the weapon changed hands to a younger generation it was to be improved by its new master. Corvus had been planning on gifting it to Morgan when he retired.

It was a simple blade made out of a bone like material, though upon closer inspection, one could see that there were several triggers and splits and groves that served a higher purpose in the blade. Corvus himself had added on the split down the center of the blade, allowing it to spilt in half and form two daggers. He had never mastered all the forms of Raven's Legacy and he wondered if there was anyone who had. There were seven total forms to the weapon, seven times had the blade been passed down through the generations, seven times had it been modified, rewritten, improved upon.

There was still a lot of improvements to make upon the blade, for one it had to be maintained constantly in order for it to avoid being jammed between forms. Corvus didn't have much time to maintain it as he used to, but the flight over to the edge of the kingdoms had given him time to do the important things like sharpening the bladed edge.

Corvus stuck to the dirt path, the trees were steadily getting thinner and the path was steadily getting wider as he was approaching a settlement just as the sun was setting. It was a small town, a few houses, a clinic, general store and an inn on the edge of town. When Corvus entered the inn he caught sight of a few familiar faces, hunters who were just heading back from a mission or were going out on another one.

He had just booked a room when he heard his name being called out.

"Corvus Fen, it has been years."

Corvus turned, a rather tall man stood there, from his head protruded two antlers and he stood gracefully before Corvus. It took him a moment to recognize the man, it had been years and both of them had changed immensely.

"Augustine!" He blurted, surprised to happen upon an old teammate, "I haven't seen you in so long!"

Augustine grinned, stepping in to embrace Corvus tightly, of course he had to lean down a bit.

"Come. Join me for dinner, we have a lot to talk about." Augustine motioned towards the table he had gotten up from, a heavy duster jacket was tossed over the back of one of the chairs, one Corvus recognized from his student days.

* * *

As he followed Augustine, Corvus looked over his long time friend and old teammate. He hadn't changed much physically, save that his autumn red hair was longer and left to hang in a loose ponytail over his shoulder and there were some new scars on his face. Augustine wore rather formal clothing, black loafers with dark brown pants, a brown button up shirt and an orange waistcoat. He stuck out amongst the other hunters with his lack of armor, but Corvus knew Augustine didn't need armor, his jacket was thick and heavy enough to protect him from most hits. Then there was his semblance covering him in a thin layer of aura to act as armor. At Augustine's waist hung his weapon, a rapier named Needlepoint, he wondered how skilled Augustine was with it now.

"It's good to see you back at work Corvus, I know what happened with…" Augustine paused, concern lacing his voice, "Her. Was rough. How's Morgan taking it?"

Corvus tensed in the chair.

"Morgan's…. better now. He's spending a lot of time with Circelle."

"I'd expect that." Augustine sighed, "Lapis was the best of us, but I'm glad something good came out of her death. I mean no offense to her memory of course."

"It's fine. So are you heading out on a mission or heading back?" Corvus asked, changing the topic. Lapis had died when Circelle was born, he wasn't quite ready to think back on his wife's death.

"I'm heading back to Vale soon, I just finished clearing out a nest of Deathstalkers from a dust quarry." Augustine answered, a smile on his face, "I'm planning on finally asking Atrus to marry me when I get back."

"Oh?" Corvus was surprised, Augustine's grin grew bigger.

"Yes, I thought it high time I finally asked him."

"I'm- wow. I'm happy for you Augustine." Corvus managed out, still in disbelief, he hadn't realized how much time had passed since he last saw Augustine. It had been three years since he had last seen Augustine when the two of them had gone out on a joint mission.

"I'd like for you to be the best man at the wedding." Augustine proclaimed, his gaze on Corvus unwavering.

"You sound so confident now Augustine." Corvus commented, there was the possibility Atrus said no after all.

"Hey, I've learned that you can't take things for granted. Sometimes, you just have to go with your gut."

Corvus grinned at this, when they had been in Beacon, Augustine was always cautious, always calculating. It was nice to see that he had changed for the better.

"So what brings you out here Corvus?" Augustine asked, leaning forwards in his chair.

"I'm heading out to a small town to help out the local hunter for a bit." Corvus answered, it wasn't necessarily a lie, nor was it the truth.

"Oh. Sounds like fun." Augustine smirked, "But no really, watch yourself out there Corvus. The Grimm are becoming more frequent now."

"I will. Don't worry Augustine. I've got Legacy here with me." He nodded, patting Raven's Legacy. Corvus had a funny thought at that moment and his smile dropped.

"So what have you heard about Merrill Lynn?"

"The Atlas Prodigy?" Augustine asked, resting his chin on his hand, "Orin said that she's nothing like we've ever seen before."

"Orin's met her?" Corvus was curious, Orin had been another member of their team, from what Corvus remembered he had been offered and honorary role in the Atlas Special Forces.

"Apparently." Augustine shrugged, "He can't release the details, but last I heard about her she was on an excursion into Menagrie. What made you wonder?"

So it was true, she was truly missing.

"No reason. Just wondering." Corvus shrugged, "How's Orin?"

"Still in special forces. Like usual, he's been too busy to answer any calls." Augustine sighed, "Sometimes that man worries me."

"Yeah." Corvus nodded, "Look I'm going to turn in for the night. I'll call you when I get back in the kingdom if I don't see you in the morning. Stay alive."

"Will do."

* * *

 **LOTS OF DIALOGUE, seriously this chapter contains a lot more dialogue than i've written before. Most of it is just building more on Corvus' past and abilities, but hopefully by next chapter we'll actually get to see him in action.**

 **Like always, reviews are gladly appreciated and constructive criticism is welcome!**

 **And as I've mentioned before, you guys should go and read 'Random Beacon Kids' by Oz Vessalius the B-Rabbit!**

 **Till next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

The town was far behind Corvus by the time the sun had risen completely, he had bid farewell to Augustine and promised he would be back in time for the wedding before they had parted ways.

It was always nice to see old friends again, Corvus definitely had a faster pace now that there was something to look forwards to. As the day wore on however, that enthusiasm wore off and Corvus was left with the morbid thoughts of " _what if_ ".

What if the hunters were dead already?

What if the town was abandoned?

What if his weaponed jammed?

And the most dangerous "what if" that loomed at the back of every hunter's thoughts every time they went out on a mission.

What if he didn't make it home?

Corvus shook the thought out of his head, he had promised Morgan that he would come home. He wasn't about to break that promise.

* * *

The next few days were almost identical, long treks through the dense woods and nights spent at small town inns, some days it rained and some nights Corvus spent in a tree, Raven's Legacy gripped tightly in his hands.

Gradually the towns got further and further apart until it would take Corvus several days to reach the next town. Eventually, Corvus began to run into Grimm. They were easy to take care of, lone Beowolves that had gotten cut off from the rest of the pack. Corvus knew of hunters who would ignore the lone Grimm, but Corvus wasn't about to take any chances. If he left that Beowolf alone, it might kill a child and in turn that child's village would mourn their death, drawing in potentially more dangerous Grimm. It was the Butterfly Effect as Lapis had called it.

Corvus shook his head, he had to stop thinking about Lapis. He needed his wits about him.

But… He glanced down at the wedding ring she had made him, it was messy as she had never made anything like it before, but it was for him. He ran his thumb over the golden surface and looked back to the path ahead.

Dust did he miss her.

* * *

Corvus looked up from the uneven forest floor when he heard gun shots nearby, more hunters? He reached for Raven's Legacy, flipping a switch that split it into two daggers and approached cautiously, peering through the trees and listening closely.

The gun shots were still ringing through the air when he heard shouting, Corvus dashed towards the noise and broke through the tree line to see a handful of hunters fending off what appeared to be a pack of Beowolves. Corvus looked closer, seeing a pack wasn't unusual, but more than two hunters dispatching them? Something was wrong.

A Beowolf stepped into the sunlight and Corvus saw it. _Dust,_ growing from the pitch black fur in sharp spikes. Corvus ran towards the hunters, slamming the two pommels of his daggers together and hearing the magnetic click of the bow being formed. He drew an arrow and pulled back the retractable bow string, releasing the arrow with a loud twang the string smacked against his arm. The arrow having embedded itself in the side of the Beowolf's skull.

Nevertheless, Corvus did not slow his speed as he collapsed the bow into a sword and released the telescopic shaft from the grip. A hunter with a gleaming silver shield held it over their head to deflect a blow from a Beowolf, Corvus ran up behind them, leapt over the hunter's shoulders and landed onto their shield where he kicked off it and into the air. His tattered cloak spreading around him like a pair of wings.

He clicked a button upon the telescopic shaft, the blade at the top of the shaft shifted to the side, one half sliding over the other and curving into a scythe. Or so Corvus had hoped, the blade jammed halfway just as Corvus was reaching the nadir of his leap. He glanced at the half open scythe and growled in frustration before whipping himself around mid air and landing on the shoulders of another Beowolf's shoulders.

The impact of Corvus upon the Beowolf's shoulders send a shockwave down it's spine, shattering the dust crystals growing from its back and sending them towards the Grimm behind it. Corvus brought the scythe across his chest, leaping off the Beowolf's shoulders and slashing at the next one.

Corvus wasn't as skilled with the scythe form of Raven's Legacy as he was with his daggers, but there was no going back now, the weapon had jammed and he wasn't about to stop fighting for even a moment to stop it.

A hail of ice crystals broke through the fight, narrowly avoiding Corvus and the other hunters as they paused in their fighting.

"A warning next time would be nice." One of the hunters commented, kicking the quickly fading body of the Beowolf at his feet.

"That doesn't matter man, did you see what was up with some of these Grimm?" Another asked, his voice wavering.

"I've never seen anything like that before." Corvus spoke up, "But they fought like regular Grimm and we were able to kill them like regular Grimm. Perhaps this was just an anomaly and we should return to our missions."

The hunters turned and looked at Corvus, he didn't recognize them, but they seemed to recognize him as they took a visible step back.

"The Seven Form Crow." One hissed, a murmur rose in the now gathering crowd of townspeople from the nearby settlement. Corvus scanned the crowd over, noticing an odd lack of faunas.

"I don't know man, doesn't look like a faunas." Another sighed, sheathing his trident like weapon.

"It doesn't matter if he doesn't look like one or not!" The first spat, taking a step towards Corvus, "What matters is that he's here."

Corvus stood his ground. It was true he was a faunas, a crow faunas to be exact. And it was true that he had been called that name before. Some did not mind, but others… had different opinions on a faunas being regarded as such.

He had encountered these types of people before, and had figured the best way was to leave at the first chance he got.

Corvus was going to do just that, he had a job to do and letting it stall was not in his best interests.

"You have some nerve showing up here, everyone knows that misfortune follows you." The hunter growled, hand gripping the battle mace in his hand, the fire dust crystal at its tip was dull in the sunlight, making it easier for Corvus to look away and at the symbol of a gold bird on his chest plate. He recognized the symbol almost instantly.

"I'm surprised a Winchester would give me, a _faunas_ , a moment of his time." Corvus replied, jostling Raven's Legacy before pressing the button to collapse it back into its sword form, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a mission to do."

He pushed past the Winchester and through the parting crowd, walking back towards his path. Corvus felt the wind shift and half turned, raising Raven's Legacy and blocking a blow from the mace that would have surely shattered his shoulder. Metal rang against metal and Corvus narrowed his eyes, having split Raven's Legacy into its daggers, the other leveled at the Winchester's abdomen.

"I will leave. You will not follow. I will give you this one chance." Corvus said lowly, "Do I make myself clear?"

The Winchester said nothing but took his mace off Raven's Legacy and backed away.

Corvus snapped the two daggers back together and continued his journey.

* * *

Corvus continued on, finding himself un-followed but unnerved at what he had seen, what he had fought.

Grimm with dust growing from them? It was unheard of, even this far out of the kingdoms.

Corvus glanced up, finding that the sun was beginning to set. He found the nearest tree and clambered up to a solid branch, balancing Raven's Legacy on his lap and pulling out a small leather-bound notebook from the pouch on his left leg.

He opened to a clean page and began to write the day's evens, making sure to highlight the dust infested Grimm.

Once he got back to Beacon he would be sure to put this in his reports and if it was somehow connected to his mission, then so be it.

* * *

 **This took a long time to write and for that I am sorry, there was a minor writers block I had to work through. Hopefully the next chapter will be here much sooner.**  
 **Like always, reviews are gladly accepted and I'll see you next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

It wasn't much longer until Corvus reached the town, and as he began to draw closer he began to notice strange things.

The air felt heavier than it usually did, not like it did when summer rolled around, but a different kind of weight that set Corvus on edge. He also noticed a distinct lack of Grimm, from the reports he had read there should have been a lot of Grimm. Corvus was somewhat thankful for that, what he had seen several days ago was unnerving. He wondered what he would do if he encountered other Grimm like that.

Another thing only Corvus could notice, there was no noise. No whisper of the wind through the trees, no flutter of owl wings in the night, not even the far off howl of wildlife. Complete silence, as if everything had died.

As Corvus grew closer to the town, he found himself with Raven's Legacy in his hands, ready for combat, its four pin fire pistols loaded and the blade split into daggers. He was much faster with them anyways.

* * *

Eventually Corvus broke through the tree line and was met with a disturbing sight, the town had almost burnt all the way down, including the trees surrounding it. Ashes shifted and carried in the air, clinging to Corvus' boots and the edge of his cloak as he walked towards the town. He couldn't see any bodies, perhaps the town had been evacuated? But he would have seen them at the last town wouldn't he have?

There were a few buildings left standing, a stone hut and most of the town hall. Corvus ignored the buildings for a moment, searching for a source of the blaze, it might be a lead.

He found the source in the center of the town… as well as the only body.

It was charred beyond recognition, but Corvus could make out odd holes in the back of the body, bullet wounds? Corvus pulled out his scroll, snapping several pictures of the body and the scorch marks surrounding it.

When he went to face the body and investigate it further, Corvus noticed a metallic glint enclosed in charred fingers. He pried the metal plate out of the corpse's hands and rubbed the soot of it. It was a crest of sorts, shaped like an ornate mirror, Corvus assumed it was once polished to reflect what it saw. He turned it over, there were carvings on the back, they were rough and uneven as if whoever had written them was trying to send a final desperate message.

Corvus didn't have to strain his eyes to read what it said.

 _DESTROY IT_

Destroy what?

Corvus turned the mirror crest over, tucking it into the pouch on his leg he was about to stand up when he heard something moving. His hand flew down to Raven's Legacy, his head turned towards the source of the noise. Whatever had moved was gone now.

Standing up, Corvus took one last look at the body. He would give them a proper burial when he was finished.

* * *

As Corvus looked further into the town, he felt a pair of eyes following him, but pretended not to notice, instead waiting for them to get closer. What ever had started the fire had taken over the town quickly, but appeared to have gone out just as quickly. Corvus assumed dust, but for that amount of dust to be unleashed in the center of town and cause that much damage it had to be a lot, several pounds if not more. It would have also had to have been bought over several months, even hunters couldn't buy that much dust in bulk legally.

Was it planned was the only question.

Corvus stood in front of a burned out house, contemplating the cause as he watched the quickly growing gray clouds overhead. A storm was coming soon.

He felt the thing watching him grow closer and waited, it was just behind him.

Corvus whipped around, reaching out and catching whatever was following him around the waist with one arm.

It was a little kid, no older than Morgan. They were squirming and kicking, trying to free themselves from Corvus' grasp. He let them go and they ran behind a piece of debris.

"I won't hurt you!" Corvus called, remaining where he stood, instead reaching into his bag and drawing out a piece of candy. He moved forwards quietly, not making a noise as he approached the debris the child hid behind. Corvus kneeled down, offering the candy out to the child. The child glanced over the debris and jumped at the sight of Corvus but remained in sight, staring at the offered gift.

They took it hesitantly, tucking it away into the pocket of their shirt.

"My name is Corvus Fen, I'm a hunter." Corvus said gently, signing what he was saying, "Who are you?"

"S-sol." The child said hesitantly, "M-momma sa-said that I sh-shouldn't talk to hunters."

"Why would she say that?" Corvus asked, once again signing to Sol.

"Sh-she said they cause problems." Sol explained, stuttering as he toyed with the hem of his shirt.

"And where is your mother?" Corvus asked.

"Sh-she went to the castle with the others."

"It will be night soon Sol." Corvus said, looking up at the sky, "Do you have somewhere to stay?"

Sol said nothing, instead taking Corvus' hand and guiding him towards the stone hut.

* * *

Inside was small and cozy, it was a single round room with two beds, a table in the center of it and a fireplace parallel to the door. On the walls hung drying herbs and photo frames of pressed flowers. There was a table pushed up against a wall, bolts of dyed fabric stacked on top. It appeared Sol's family made a living dying cloth.

Sol motioned for Corvus to sit on the bigger bed as he sat across from him on the smaller one.

"Can you tell me more about the castle?" Corvus asked after having watched Sol worry at the edge of his shirt. He still signed his words and Sol watched his hands intrigued.

"Wh-what are your doing with your ha-hands?" Sol asked, not answering the question asked to him.

"It's called sign language." Corvus explained, "I have a son who cannot speak, so this is how we communicate."

"C-can you teach it to me?" Sol asked, sitting forwards and worrying at the edge of his shirt again.

"How about this? I teach you sign language and you tell me about the castle." Corvus offered, Sol nodded in agreement.

"Momma s-said I sh-shouldn't go there."

"Why?" Corvus said, signing the word by touching his forehead and then bringing it down, pointing out his little finger and thumb to form the letter 'Y', he waited until Sol repeated it back to him.

"Because of the m-monsters." Sol responded.

"Grimm?" Corvus asked, signing and waiting for Sol to repeat it back to him.

"Yes." Sol answered simply.

"Did the other hunters go there? What happened to them?" Corvus asked slowly, signing each word out to Sol.

"The nice lady c-came b-back, S-she fell in the town s-square."

"Did you know her name?" Corvus hoped it wasn't Merrill Lynn.

"M-momma s-said it was A-Alice Glass."

Coruvs let out a sigh of relief, Merrill was still at the ruins then. She could still be alive.

"Thank you Sol, but I have one more thing to ask you. Could you take me there in the morning?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. Let's continue on with the lesson, I'm going to show you how to sign the alphabet now."

* * *

The night went on, Corvus wasn't sure what time it was when Sol eventually nodded off, but it was late into the night. He stayed up for a little while longer than Sol, watching the boy sleep and contemplating what he would do with him.

Corvus couldn't take Sol with him to the ruins, it was much too dangerous there, but he couldn't leave him in the town. He had seen a stable still intact when he had arrived, perhaps if there were still horses in there Corvus could direct Sol to the next town over.

Corvus shook his head clear of his thoughts, closed the leather bound notebook he had been writing in and laid down on the bed, drifting to sleep.

* * *

Corvus had dreams of Lapis that night, her long waves of deep blue hair were spilled out over the emerald green grass, the white sun dress she wore shifted in the gentle spring wind. Overhead large billowing white clouds drifted across the bright blue sky.

"Corvus." She said, her voice soft and sweet, a smile on her lips and her golden eyes watching Corvus with love and amusement.

"Lapis." Corvus breathed out, placing his hand on the side of her face, almost in disbelief that she was actually there.

"What's wrong love?" Lapis asked, placing her hand over his, he could almost feel the callouses on her fingers.

"I've… missed you." Corvus whispered and Lapis laughed, her laughter was like music to his ears and he could feel tears beginning to prick the corners of his eyes.

"You're so weird, but I love you." Lapis smiled, pulling Corvus' hand off her face to kiss his fingers, "I wont leave your side love."

Corvus woke up with tears streaming down his face.

* * *

Ah how I love writing sad endings to chapters. Anyways, we're about halfway through with this fic and I wanna say thank you for reading it, it means a lot to me. There's still at least another five chapters to go and reviews are always helpful for morale and for me to get better as a writer, so if you have any suggestions let me know!  
For those of you who are looking for more fics to read, go over and check out "Random Beacon Kids" by, Oz Vessalius the B-Rabbit. They've been doing an awesome job writing so far and I cannot wait to see more!  
Like always, I'll see you readers next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

When the sun rose over the small burned village and cast a pale blue haze over its ruins, Corvus stood outside Sol's home, making his way towards the stable nearby. With luck, a horse could get Sol to the next town over.

When Corvus entered the stable he found it to be his lucky day, there was a single horse left inside. It was old, but looked to still be strong enough to support Sol's weight. Corvus gingerly opened the gate into the horses stall, picking up a half filled bucket of oats as he did so. He offered the food to the horse and edged closer, they made no negative motion towards Corvus, instead beginning to nibble at the contents of the bucket.

Corvus laid a hand on the side of the horses face and whispered to it, urging it to follow him, to allow him to saddle it up and let him guide it out the doors.

Sol was waiting for him, hands worrying at the hem of his shirt, but the moment he caught sight of Corvus he lifted his hands and signed. Albeit slow and sloppily.

 _Good Morning._

 _Morning._ Corvus signed back, _do you have everything?_

Sol cocked his head at him, a confused look on his face. Corvus sighed, he reminded him too much of Morgan.

"This horse will take you to the next town, its not safe for you to be here anymore."

"Why?"

"Once I enter those ruins I can't guarantee your safety."

"Why can't I go with you?"

"It's too dangerous." Corvus responded.

"I can fight!" Sol adamantly protested, holding up his fists.

"Grimm aren't like people, they wont stop because you're little."

"S-so? I want to fi-fight!"

"And I'm telling you its too dangerous!" Corvus suddenly yelled, stopping himself and taking a deep breath and sighing.

"You've got a long life ahead of you Sol, there's so much you can do." Corvus said, kneeling down and placing his hands on Sol's shoulders, "It would be a waste if something happened to you. That's why you need to get out of here, the next town should help you, if not go to the next, and the next until someone helps you. Promise me this Sol."

Sol nodded his head, lifted his hands and signed.

 _I promise._

Corvus sighed, a soft smile on his face. He hoisted Sol up onto the saddled horse.

"Tell me which direction the castle is in."

Sol pointed behind Corvus.

"M-momma said it was back there."

"Thank you Sol. Now go. Don't stop until you reach the next town."

Corvus watched as Sol rode off, waiting until he disappeared just behind the tree line before moving in the direction of the castle.

* * *

It took a lot longer to get to the castle than Corvus had hoped, but as he stumbled through the underbrush, Corvus began to feel unsettled and paranoid. He felt as if something was watching him from far away, at first he thought Sol had followed him, but it didn't feel like Sol. The air was becoming heavier and heavier as the trees thinned, until the forest fell away and Corvus was faced with the crumbling ruins of a once great castle.

* * *

It was one thing seeing it in Merrill's photograph, but seeing it in person was different, way different.

Corvus felt sick just looking at it. It was ancient, much older than the forest temple near Beacon. Vines and moss overgrew the crumbling towers, perhaps being the only things keeping the castle standing. Before Corvus was a great door, once sealed by a heavy stone that had faded carvings across it in a long dead language, now broken by a gaping hole. Dark clouds rumbled overhead, the smell of rain was far off, nevertheless, Corvus needed to get moving.

As he approached the castle ruins, Corvus got a sinking feeling that something was definitely not right. It felt like Grimm, but it wasn't Grimm. Grimm made the air feel cold and sad, but what Corvus felt as he ducked through the great door was an intense wave of cold and the feeling that someone was watching him from every possible angle. It was as if the castle walls had eyes.

The interior of the castle appeared to have faired better than the exterior, though not by much. Once grand hallways were crumbling and covered in dirt and dust. The walls were covered in the remains of tapestries that were so dirty and faded, Corvus couldn't make out the colors or symbols they once depicted. What remained of furniture were bits of rotted wood that looked as if they would collapse into dust if Corvus even breathed in its direction.

As he made his way down the hallway, Corvus drew out Raven's Legacy, splitting it into his daggers. There was a deep red glow ahead, it was hardly noticeable from when Corvus had been standing in the door, but as he approached it grew stronger.

There soon came a door and beyond that, Corvus could see a room bathed in the red glow, but before he could pass into it he noticed the body collapsed at the door frame.

Corvus kneeled down, moving aside the torn and bloody gray cloak draped over the body, he almost jumped back out of surprise of what he saw. Dust crystals grew from the body, gleaming in the red light of the next room. Corvus didn't touch the body any further, instead using Raven's Legacy to turn the head to the side so he could see their face.

 _Finch Gray_.

Corvus noticed that Finch had his hands curled around an iron griffon, the symbol Warden Gray wore.

He looked away, so three people were dead already. Corvus considered running away at that point, leaving the castle and Merrill far behind and fabricating the rest of his report.

Corvus forced himself to stand and step forwards. He had to put an end to whatever was going on.

* * *

 **Things are starting to come together now and I am so excited for the next chapter!**  
 **Like always reviews are welcomed and constructive criticism is very helpful!**  
 **I'll see you next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

The red glow that bathed the room in it's eerie light quickly enveloped Corvus as he stepped over Finch Gray's body, his fingers holding Raven's Legacy in a death grip as he steeled himself for what he would find.

The room was covered in red dust crystals, great spires of dust that grew in clusters along the edges of the room, their growth having created long cracks across the floor and walls, some even reaching the ceiling where a broken chandelier hung askew, swinging softly.

Corvus crossed the room carefully, not sparing the dust crystals a second glance. The castle appeared to have more dust clusters growing inside it and the deeper Corvus went, the more there were and the bigger they were and a wider variety.

There was still no sign of Merrill or the other missing hunters and Corvus was beginning to hope that there would be a body to recover.

He noticed a lack of Grimm and became increasingly paranoid, every report he had read had said there was a growth in Grimm, that the forest was practically crawling with them. So far, Corvus had yet to see a single Grimm within the ruins.

"Perhaps they are repelled by the dust…" Corvus whispered to himself, looking up at the high ceiling where clusters of dust crystals gathered in a myriad of colors. A low growl whispered through the halls and Corvus stopped in his tracks, of course they would come when he mentioned them aloud.

Corvus stood still, waiting for the Grimm to come to him, but it never did. Curious, Corvus stepped forwards tentatively, searching for the Grimm. He came across a pair of great ornate doors, they were cracked open just enough for Corvus to peak through and see a curious sight.

* * *

The room beyond the doors appeared to have once been a ballroom, but now it was packed with Grimm, all of them clawing and clambering and circling a structure made of ice in the center of the room.

Through the ice Corvus could see two vaguely humanoid shapes.

"The missing hunters?" Corvus thought to himself, his grip on his daggers tightening.

A Grimm struck the ice, sending a large crack splintering up the side of the ice structure. That Grimm's head was the first to roll as Corvus activated his semblance, leaving a wake of black feathers behind him. He skid to a halt, his back to the ice structure and Grimm surrounding him.

Corvus heard a muffled yelp from within the glass and half turned his head.

"Don't worry! I'll get you out of there!"

With that, Corvus glanced back at the Grimm, smirked, and kicked off the ice structure into the horde. Slashing left and right, spinning and turning and leaping from Grimm to Grimm, Grimm blood dripped from Raven's Legacy, evaporating the moment it hit the ground. Body parts, shiny black feathers and the small explosive bangs of his pistols filled the air.

A Beowolf lashed at Corvus, catching him by the cloak. Having suddenly lost momentum, Raven's Legacy went flying from Corvus' hands, skittering across the room. He laid on the ground stunned for a moment, the Beowolf looming over him and Grimm closing in.

Corvus whipped his legs around him, knocking limbs and jaws away from him as he scrambled to his feet. He could see Raven's Legacy just in front of him and dashed to it, black feathers falling free from his cloak. He rolled over the blades, picking them up as he did, slamming the pommels together and hearing the zip of the bowstring being formed. He drew three explosive arrows from the quiver on his back and aimed it at the Grimm, but then a bright sparkle from the ceiling caught his gaze.

A rather large cluster of dust crystals had grown from the ceiling.

Corvus fired the three explosive arrows towards the Grimm, buying him some time as the explosion cut him off from them, he quickly drew another explosive arrow from the quiver and aimed towards the cluster, drawing the bowstring as far back as it would go. Corvus took a deep breath and released the arrow, the shard of red dust at its tip gleamed and shattered against the cluster, exploding on contact. The explosion rocked the whole ballroom as dust crystals began to fall, causing explosions amongst the Grimm.

The air filled with smoke and the deafening booms of explosions, somewhere amongst the chaos Corvus heard the ice structure crack even further.

When the smoke cleared Corvus had changed Raven's Legacy back into its dagger form, scanning the room for Grimm he was pleased to find that they had been effectively whipped out. He found that the ice structure had broken and began to walk towards it, sheathing his daggers as he did so.

Corvus had just stepped over the threshold of where the ice structure once stood when one of the hunter's head shot up.

"Stay back!" They shouted, their voice shaking.

Corvus stopped in his tracks, looking at the huntress.

She had short and messy ice blue hair and silver eyes that looked at him with fear behind cracked half-moon glasses. Her face was dirty but Corvus could see where tears had rolled down her cheeks. Her clothes were dirty and bloodstained.

Nevertheless, Corvus recognized her almost instantly.

"Merrill Lynn!" He said, relieved, "I'm glad I could find you! Where's Pendragon and Hawk?"

Merrill fell silent, looking away from him. Her lips moved to form words, but Corvus couldn't hear what she had said. He took a step closer and another, and another, until he was only a few feet away from Merrill Lynn.

"Lynn…." He called softly, crouching down, "Where are the others?"

Merrill sniffed, her eyes beginning to water. She weakly motioned in front of her.

A body was propped up on it's knees, dust growing from the skin.

Corvus saw the golden hawk sewn into the shoulder of the body's shirt and glanced away, he had found Gilda Hawk.

"What happened to you?" He muttered under his breath, taking a quick glance at Gilda's body before looking at Merrill.

She appeared uninjured for the most part, she had a few cuts and bruises, but nothing major Corvus could see. He offered a hand to her.

"We need to get out of this room."

Merrill closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She exhaled and opened her eyes, taking Corvus' hand. When Corvus looked into her eyes, he did not see the scared teenager he had found, instead he saw resolve and determination.

"That door leads down into the castle, Glida-" Merrill stopped, "Hawk. And I were trying to destroy this place when we were surrounded by Grimm."

Corvus nodded, walking towards a slightly smaller door on the other end of the ballroom, Merrill following closely.

* * *

True to Merrill's word, beyond the door laid a collapsed hallway and an opened passage way a servant might have used in order to traverse the castle unnoticed. The passage way held a staircase that led deep down below the castle. Corvus could see the faint glow of dust crystals lighting the way down.

He descended slowly, the passage was narrow, almost too narrow for Corvus to fit through even sideways. Merrill guided him from behind slowly and silently, easily fitting through the passage.

* * *

"Who sent you?" She asked, glancing behind them in case a stray Grimm followed them.

"Ozpin." Corvus answered.

"Ozpin sent you?" She seemed almost surprised at this, "It figures, I'm surprised that Atlas hasn't sent anyone after me yet however."

"That is a little strange."

Silence fell over them again.

* * *

"Did you…. did Finch Gray make it out?"

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be."

More silence, the staircase was starting to curve. Corvus was beginning to wonder how far beneath the castle they were now.

* * *

"Alice Glass. She did make it either?"

"No."

"…"

The passage was slowly becoming wider and Corvus found himself able to face forwards.

* * *

"Could I ask you something?" Merrill asked and Corvus looked back at her, her hands were worrying at each other.

"You just did." He joked lightheartedly, "But sure. Ask away."

"Do you have a family?"

"Odd question, but yes." Corvus looked forwards, "A son and a daughter."

"How old?"

"Well, Morgan's seven and Circelle is only three months old."

"Do they know you might not come back?" Merrill asked and Corvus almost stopped.

"I think.. Morgan has always known." Corvus looked up at the ceiling, small clusters of dust hung from above, bathing the passage in a blue light.

"I see."

"What about you, Merrill? Is there some handsome young man waiting for you to sweep him off his feet when you get back?"

"Sort of." Merrill responded, surprised by the question, "We're almost there now by the way."

"Oh."

indeed the end of the staircase was within sight, a pale white light illuminated the bottom step.

* * *

Corvus felt a wave of relief wash over him the moment he exited the passage, he always hated small spaces. The room before him was not actually a room, but a large cave system. Spires of dust in myriad colors gleamed in the tunnels, but what stood in the center of the room was unlike anything Corvus had ever seen before. And he had seen a lot of new things that day alone.

It was a strange machine, ancient and oddly designed. Blood red dust grew in angry clusters from the openings in the strange machine. Smaller red clusters grew away from the machine all heading towards the passage Corvus had just exited.

He walked towards on of the clusters, there was something strange within the cluster itself.

 _A body._

Corvus reeled back in shock, what was going on here?

"Don't touch the dust." Merrill said plainly, adjusting the small round shield on her arm and walking past Corvus, "You'll end up like them."

"What happened here." Corvus demanded, catching up with Merrill.

"A lot of mistakes." Merrill explained, stopping before the machine and looking up at it, there were dents and bullet holes and scorch marks across the face of the machine. A larger red cluster grew nearby and Corvus could recognize Arthur Pendra's face.

"Warden Gray discovered this castle months ago, it wasn't open at that time." Merrill began to explain, "Maybe if he hadn't opened the door he'd still be alive."

* * *

 **WOOOOOOOO, god this was long. Anyways, I'm in the middle of exam week as I type this so the next update will take a little longer than usual as I recover from exams and settle into second semester. Even then, we are so close to finishing this, only three more chapters to go!**  
 **Like always, reviews are gladly welcome and constructive criticism is appreciated!**  
 **Until next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

Corvus was confused.

If he hadn't opened the door he would have been alive?

"Merrill I'm still lost, what happened here?"

Merrill sighed and pulled her eyes away from the great machine.

"This castle, it used to be a research facility in the great war. The war where Grimm almost wiped out humanity completely." She began, "This machine or whatever it is, seems to have been used to refine dust, but its archaic and was much more than that."

Corvus studded the machine much more closely, it was old certainly, but it looked like it had been nearly untouched by time save for the dust clusters that grew from it.

"This machine was one of humanities first attempts at fusing humans and raw dust together."

Corvus stopped, fusing humans and dust together? It was unheard of back then and now it was outright dangerous, raw dust was incredibly unstable as it was and would only grow more unstable as it reacted with aura.

"A machine this size…" He breathed and Merrill looked at him.

"Destroyed lives." She finished his sentence, "Something went wrong with it, I don't know if it was the design, if it was the dust or if it was human error, but something happened. That something released dust particles into the air and…. I'm sorry… but you're already dead."

His heart stopped, _dead_? When had he died?

"We both are. Our time is extremely limited, mine more than yours. The use of a semblance seems to speed up the process of crystal growth, I've only been able to keep it down by remaining where I was, but now." Merrill looked at her hands, "Now I can feel it growing. We have to destroy this machine, we have to destroy this castle! If we do that Corvus-"

Merrill had turned to him and stopped, Corvus had gone rigid, his black beady eyes staring straight ahead.

"We prevent this from ever happening to anyone again."

Corvus hadn't taken his eyes off the machine, but now he glanced at Merrill and felt pity. She was only sixteen, yet it looked like she was ready to die. Her eyes had wisdom beyond their years and her shoulders were broad. Corvus knew she would never back down from a challenge like this.

"What do you want me to do." He asked, more like demanded her to give him an order.

"I need you to take my journal and my crest back to my family, they deserve to know exactly what happened to their daughter." Merrill dug in the pouch at her side, pulling out a beaten up leather journal and a metal plate shaped in the silhouette of an owl in flight. She held them out to Corvus, "I am going to use every last bit of aura I have to create a glyph that will tear this castle to the ground, but I need to do it from the inside, I need to make sure this machine is destroyed."

Corvus hesitated, but took the items from her. He was going to get her out, alive or dead.

"Do what you must." He tucked the items into his bag, sheathing Raven's Legacy and walking back towards the staircase he had come from. It was wrong.

He stopped at the staircase, Merrill hadn't checked to see if he was gone. Corvus glanced around the cavern, if he was fast enough he could grab her, bounce off the machine and race up the stairs.

Meanwhile, Merrill stood before the machine, the arm with her shield on it was held to her chest as she ran her fingers along the edge softly. The names of her team mates and the names of the hunters whom had died were etched into the metal.

"Your sacrifices were not in vain." She muttered to herself, grabbing the edge of the shield and turning it, the gears within the shield itself turned and clicked loudly, signaling that she had opened all the dust veins within the shield.

A glyph made of large slowly turning circles formed before her, the owls lining the edge of her glyphs circled the glyph slowly. Merrill poured more and more aura into the glyph as it grew bigger and bigger, almost filling the room completely. Sweat fell from her brow and her body began to shake violently from the strain she was putting on it.

"A little more…. just a little more." Merrill willed herself, the rotating portions of the glyph quickened, and the glyph began to gleam a myriad of colors before fading black.

"Now!" She yelled, releasing the glyph.

Energy surged through the room, the machine exploded into dust and metal and the cavern began to shake violently. Merrill fell to her knees, unable to move, but a smile on her face, even as dust crystals grew from her back.

 _It was finally over_.

She didn't register the arm around her waist until she was halfway up the stairs, by then it was too late to say anything but watch. The castle roared and shook and collapsed, clumps of dirt and shards of dust clusters and ancient rocks crashed to the ground.

The clouds that blanketed the sky finally burst and icy cold rain plummeted to the ground, freezing Merrill to the bone as the watched the rest of the castle cascade to the ground and begin to burn. Corvus stood with her in his arms, breathing heavily.

He looked to the sky and thanked the maker, he was beyond lucky.

But luck often comes with consequences and Corvus could feel the dust growing within him, his veins burned and froze and felt numb as electricity flowed through them. He swallowed his pain and looked down at Merrill, it looked as if she had passed out.

He smiled, she was still alive.

"Let's go home."

* * *

 **Almost done. So close to being done, I can taste it. Anyways, I'm finished with finals, started a new semester of classes and am back on track with writing. The last two chapters should be up sometime this week and then we'd be done with the story.**  
 **As always reviews are gladly appreciated and I'll see you next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

He was a fool.

A reckless one at that.

Corvus found himself unable to sleep the first night on his way back to the kingdom walls, Merrill had yet to awoken and despite him sitting almost in the fire, Corvus felt a chill sweep through him. His hands shook to the point where he could not hold Raven's Legacy and his whole body felt on fire and frozen solid at the same time.

When morning had come, Corvus found himself unable to see from his left eye. That wasn't what threw him into panic however, it was when Merrill had stopped breathing for a moment that made him scoop her up and rocket off through the forest, leaving black feathers and blood in his wake.

Corvus used his semblance until his aura had run out, even then he ran through the day and night, even as his legs threatened to give out and his arms burned from holding Merrill for so long. When he had enough aura to give, he would give it to Merrill to keep her alive, she had to live. At least until they got back to the kingdom.

What had taken him three weeks of travel only took Corvus four days of non-stop running before he broke the tree line before the kingdom walls and fell to his knees.

Dust grew in twisted crystals from his left arm and along his shoulder blade, another cluster had grown from his right thigh, an angry crack was sent up the crystals upon impact to the ground. Merrill fared no better, dust grew from both arms, nearly enveloping her shield, she had yet to awaken and Corvus couldn't see the rise and fall of her chest anymore.

Corvus took one last shuddering breath before he fell forwards into darkness.

* * *

 _Two weeks later._

Corvus stood in Ozpin's office, leaning heavily on the crutch propped under his right arm, the stump his left arm now was sent a dull throb through his body along with the stump of a right leg.

Ozpin stood with his back to Corvus, looking out the window over his academy. The only noise present was the churning of the great cogs beneath and above them.

"Are you sure about this?" Ozpin asked, unable to even look at Corvus.

"Yes." Corvus answered, not giving a moments thought, "Tell them I died, tell them there wasn't a body to recover."

Ozpin nodded hesitantly, silence enveloping the room once more.

"And what of Merrill Lynn?" He asked, hearing Corvus shift behind him, "What should be done about her?"

"She went missing in Menagrie."

"Is that all?"

Corvus was silent for a moment.

"I'm going to find a way to fix this."

Ozpin did not respond, there was nothing else he could say. Corvus had made his decision.

He heard Corvus approach his desk and the sound of something small and metallic clicking against the glass surface.

"Give this to my son."

Corvus then turned to leave, slowly making his way across the room.

The elevator doors opened and Glynda stepped out, surprised at Corvus' presence.

"Oh, Corvus. I didn't know you were reporting in today. I'm sorry about what happened." Glynda stated, Corvus brushing past her.

"Don't be." He muttered, "I was just leaving."

The elevator doors closed behind him and Glynda looked at Ozpin with concerned eyes.

"We should have never sent him on that mission." She commented, approaching Ozpin's desk and stopping when she saw the small handmade wedding ring upon it.

"Professor Ozpin?"

Ozpin sighed, unmoving from the window.

"The dead should have a body to mourn."

* * *

 **So close to the end, just next chapter to go. As I've previously mentioned, if you haven't already, this story is a sort of precursor story to my character Morgan in "Random Beacon Kids" by Oz Vessalius the B-Rabbit.  
** **Until next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

Corvus stood in Ozpin's office, adjusting the metal arm that had come to replace his left arm. He had changed in the past ten years, there were streaks of silver at his temples and new scars across his face, but his eyes remained the same beady black as they had always been. His left eye was covered with a black eye-patch and his clothes were covered by the feathery black cloak he wore. Raven's Legacy hung at his waist as it always did, more battered since the last time Ozpin had seen him.

The last time Corvus and Ozpin had spoken was before Corvus had departed to an archaeological site in Vacuo nearly two years ago.

"So you've returned." Ozpin commented, turning to glance at Corvus, but still not meeting his gaze.

"Hit another dead end, figured I should return to Vale for a bit. See how much things have changed." Corvus shrugged, his mechanical hand falling back to his side, "Has anything changed with Merrill?"

Ozpin motioned for Corvus to follow him into the elevators where they descended into the vast vaults beneath Beacon. He led him to the small room where Merrill was enclosed in a large metal coffin. A cryostasis pod.

Dust had grown from her shoulders, nearly encasing the interior of the pod in it. The eerie aqua light of the vaults made the dust within the pod cast an eerie glow. She hadn't changed since the day they had put her into the pod.

Corvus stood before her, it looked as if Merrill was just sleeping, but he knew she wasn't.

"There are days where she's better, but those are growing few. We'll have to replace the container soon, the dust shortens its live span." Ozpin explained, standing behind Corvus. Corvus knew the dust did that, he was still replacing his limbs every year because a cluster would grow between the wires and gears.

A short silence fell between the two of them.

"Goodwitch told me that my son was going to start attending Beacon this year." Corvus spoke, "She said that he looks just like me."

Ozpin remained silent. He knew those words weren't meant for him.

"When I was in Vacuo at that site, I was sure I was going to find a cure for us. I'm almost there, there's just a few kinks I have to figure out, but you just hang tight alright? I'm almost done." Corvus smiled softly at Merrill, he knew she couldn't hear him, but it still felt nice.

"I've got to go now, but next time we meet, maybe it wont be here." Corvus promised, turning away from Merrill.

"I've decided something."

"Oh?" Ozpin asked, beginning to guide Corvus out of the vaults.

"I'm going to stay in Vale just for this school year." Corvus explained, "If you believe that Morgan is ready to… see me again. Send him to me after the Vytal Festival. I think its time I should tell him why his father left."

* * *

 **And its over! It feels really really REALLY good having gotten a multi-chapter fic done after such a long time of not doing that. So, how do you think I did? Any suggestions I could use for future stories? Leave a review down below if there are any, or if you just feel like dropping a review.** **  
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